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Wednesday, 18 January 2017

Hugh Williamson - Human Rights Watch

Turkey’s parliament is voting on amendments to the constitution that would increase the power of the Turkish presidency and fundamentally erode checks and balances on the executive, Human Rights Watch said today. These constitutional changes pose a huge threat to human rights, the rule of law, and the country’s democratic future.

The draft bill would concentrate unchecked power in the president’s hands. The government is rushing the bill through parliament during a state of emergency and a crackdown in which the independent media has been silenced and public debate restricted.

“The proposed constitutional changes concentrate power in the hands of President Erdoğan and further erode already weak checks and balances on the exercise of that power,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Parliament should reject these constitutional changes, which would hollow out the rule of law, and profoundly undermine the country’s democracy.” Continue